This time is different. After other mass murders in schools, theaters, night clubs, churches the issue became “What are we going to do about guns?” The answer was always “Nothing but send thoughts and prayers.”
Why? Because of the power of the gun lobby, represented by the NRA.
But the Parkland kids have changed that question to “Which side are you on? Are you for us or for the NRA?” And, by telling their stories of terror, they have made it increasingly difficult to be on the wrong side of this. Of course, Dana Loesch and Wayne LaPierre made the contrast even more striking, and we should thank them for it.
Republican politicians have tried to take the argument into the abstract territory of the Second Amendment, but the kids are not letting us forget that it’s really about money and the power of the NRA, and they can no longer hide from this. They have made the question for politicians “Do you care about NRA money more than you care about us?”
And the kids are defanging the NRA. It’s less powerful today than it was a week ago. How?
- The mayor pro tem of Dallas has asked the NRA not to hold their convention in Dallas.
- The First National Bank of Omaha will no longer issue NRA branded credit cards, thanks to their customers’ protests.
- Several rental car companies are ending their partnership with the NRA, for the same reason, and will no longer give discounts to NRA members.
This time is different, thanks to the clear vision of the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Let’s keep up the pressure on businesses that have special agreements with the NRA.